Taylor, G. A. (1872-1928), an Australian pioneer aviator and engineer, made what many historians regard as the first flight in Australia in a heavier-than-air craft. He made this flight in 1909 in Narrabeen, Sydney, in a glider that he had built. During the early 1900's, he attempted to discover the principles of flight. In 1908, he began building a series of box kites. The tail of Taylor's glider was itself a box kite. Before his flight, Taylor and his associates tested the glider by flying it from ropes like a kite.